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Performance-based college funding bill killed on House floor

Posted on June 3, 2013 at 4:42 PM

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State funding for public universities would have been based on performance, graduation rate and the competitiveness of majors under a bill killed on the House floor Monday.
(Andrew Boyd, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

An effort to make state funding for Louisiana's public colleges dependent on performance, graduation rates and other measures died on the House floor Monday, after lawmakers raised concerns about costs.

Senate
Bill 117, co-sponsored by Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, and state
Rep.
Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge, would have created a task force to draw-up a funding mechanism for public universities based on
school
performance.

But "performance" would have been based not solely on graduation and retention
rates, but also on the college's focus on majors that align with
Louisiana's workforce needs.

Schools that focused on the
"potential earning power" of graduates would have received more state funding, especially those with more "STEM" (science,
technology, engineering, and math) majors available to students.

While the bill was widely supported in committee and on the Senate floor, where it was supported by two-thirds of lawmakers, it failed in the House by a vote of 39-60.

The legislation would have carried a price tag of nearly $45,000 for professional services, meals, and travel of the task force members, according to the bill's fiscal note.